Three killed in dispute over parking near UNC

DURHAM, N.C. - The suspect in the shooting deaths of three relatives near the University of North Carolina campus has made a first court appearance on murder charges.

Forty-six-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks appeared briefly in an orange jumpsuit and shackles Wednesday morning. District Judge Marcia Morey said he had filled out an affidavit of indigency and would be appointed a public defender for the three counts of first-degree murder.

She scheduled a probable cause hearing for March 4. He will be held without bond.

Hicks spoke only to answer that he understood the charges and to confirm parts of indigency affidavit.

Police say the shooting was motivated by a long-standing neighbor dispute over parking.

The victims of Tuesday's shooting are identified as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat and 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad, both of Chapel Hill, and 19-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, of Raleigh. Barakat and Mohammad were married, and Abu-Salha was Mohammad's sister. All were students.